Hate Plot No Surprise to O.C. Jews : Bigotry: But members of area synagogues say they were astonished at the depth of the alleged conspiracy involving a white supremacist group.

Members of area synagogues said Sunday they are concerned--but not surprised--that a group of white supremacists were allegedly targeting prominent blacks and members of Orange County’s Jewish community before their arrests last week.

“There’s nothing really new here,” said Mort Wolk of Santa Ana. “I didn’t like it being so close to home, but I wasn’t really that surprised.”

Wolk was one of more than 500 people from nine Western states and British Columbia attending the 130th annual B’nai B’rith District Four convention at the Red Lion Inn. Members of B’nai B’rith, a national Jewish service group, will meet through Wednesday to discuss issues from philanthropy to terrorism.

Jewish leaders at the conference said racial and ethnic hatred is a continuous concern, but several said they were astonished by the depth of the alleged conspiracy by a white supremacist group called the Fourth Reich Skinheads.

One of eight people arrested in last week’s FBI crackdown, Christopher David Fisher, 20, of Long Beach, allegedly told an undercover agent that he threw a Molotov cocktail at the window of a Westminster synagogue in April. The homemade grenade failed to ignite because it was raining, Fisher allegedly told the agent.

“I found it absolutely shocking that there was such a program carried on by a few people,” said Herbert J. Patt, president of Temple Judea in Laguna Hills. “One never knows how the plan would go through, but thank God we didn’t have to find out.”

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, thousands of members of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church gathered for the first time since the alleged plot to attack the city’s oldest black congregation was revealed.

The Rev. Cecil L. Murray brought the crowd of worshipers to their feet as he called on them to fight hate with love.

“Hate groups cannot succeed unless love groups give their permission!” Murray shouted. “You and I are a love group.”

None of those interviewed at the B’nai B’rith convention said they had heard from the FBI about the alleged skinhead plot or felt personally endangered. But several were flabbergasted when they heard that the Westminster synagogue, Temple Beth David, had been singled out for attack by the group.

Pnina Schicor, a convention attendee from Fullerton, called skinhead groups “very frightening.”

“It’s hate, and not only against Jews, but blacks and others--and it pops up when people are unhappy,” Schicor said. Like others, she suggested that the poor economy may contribute to hate crime outbreaks.

Norman Simon, executive director of B’nai B’rith’s Western district, traced the roots of white supremacist violence to the same social problems that breed neighborhood youth gangs and worldwide terrorist movements.

“They’re usually inadequate people who don’t look at themselves, but blame others for their misfortune,” Simon said.

Wolk, a member of an Anaheim B’nai B’rith lodge and past president of the group’s Western district, said that youth community activities and education can combat hatred. “But you always have to be vigilant and know there will always be people like that out there,” Wolk said.

Patt said he will bring up the hate crime issue before his synagogue in a talk on Friday. “Somebody forgot to teach about a four-letter word called love, “ Patt said.